It’s a new term at Waterloo Road – and to say that nothing will be the same again is an understatement. Waterloo Road has been pushed into an arranged marriage with the John Foster School whose pupils are a little posher, and a lot more disciplined – or that’s how it seems on the surface.

It’s not long before a culture-clash between schools becomes a turf war, and that’s only the beginning of the challenges facing Head Teacher Rachel Mason. She’s also up against a ruthless new Executive Head, Max Tyler, who wants to bring his iron rule to the pupils of Waterloo Road – and won’t let anyone stand in his way.

Elsewhere, Steph finds herself under a new department head, the openly lesbian Jo Lipsett, and there’s a new boy, Finn Sharkey, who’s been kicked out of every school up to now. It will take more than Waterloo Road to turn him around, and if he’s going down, he’s not going alone.

By the end of term, the school will have seen a child abducted by a vengeful father, a schoolgirl crush that can destroy a career, a teacher whose life is spiralling out of control, and a Head Teacher whose heart is about to lead her out of the school gates - maybe for the last time.